High-tech project aims to make super-soldiers
By Fred Bayles, USA TODAY
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. It was once the stuff of science fiction movies: soldiers equipped with high-tech gear that made them stronger, swifter and smarter — invulnerable to bullets and able to survive the harshest conditions.
On Thursday, the U.S. Army and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology unveiled a joint project that generals and scientists said could make fiction a reality within this decade.
The new Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies at MIT will use a five-year, $50 million grant from the Army to develop tiny machines that are the size of molecules to give U.S. military personnel an edge on the battlefield.
Some of the ideas being explored include battle suits that are embedded with tiny devices that can seal against chemical attack, administer immediate medical care and even — no joke, scientists say — give soldiers the power to leap small buildings.
The growing field of nanotechnology draws from the worlds of biochemistry, physics, materials science and electrical engineering to create devices no bigger than a few molecules. The devices are linked in the same way that computer chips are wired together to perform tasks, from changing the color of a fabric to changing shape and size.
"There is a lot of nanotechnology research being done around the country, but nothing as concentrated as this new facility," said A. Michael Andrews, the chief scientist for the Army's Office of Acquisition, Logistics and Technology.
The opening of the eight-story research center had the flavor of a trade show combined with a convention of Star Trek enthusiasts. Soldiers modeled simulations of what future uniforms might look like, and exhibition booths displayed the latest in body armor, night-vision technology and micro-medical devices to monitor a soldier's vital signs during combat.
MIT researchers showed off some of the projects they have been working on since the grant was awarded last year. In one lab, visitors saw a process that wraps polymers around individual fibers in fabric to make clothing impervious to water. In another, visitors saw a muddy liquid containing metal molecules that turn solid when exposed to a magnetic field.
Ned Thomas, a materials scientist who is director of the nanotechnologies institute, said the material could be used to create a lightweight body armor as thin as paper but as strong as steel. It could replace the 40-pound flak jackets that troops now wear.
Among the projects:
• Tiny sensors embedded in helmets and clothing that could give soldiers the ability to sense an enemy sneaking up from behind.
• Miniscule sensors and drug dispensers in uniforms that could sense a soldier's condition and treat injuries. Scientists are also developing microscopic coatings that would protect soldiers from chemical and biological weapons.
• "Hinge molecules" that open and close like a door hinge when given an electric current. Material made from them, called exomuscle, can contract with 10 times the power of human muscle. Scientists talk of possibly putting the material in gloves, uniforms and boots to give soldiers superhuman strength to leap over high walls.